Only in Cavan…Umpire shot in the foot during hurling match

GAA officials have often shot themselves in the foot in a metaphorical sense, but rarely have we heard of an umpire being shot while in the line of duty. Until now that is.

At a time when the treatment of match officials is under major scrutiny following the attack on Mayo official Liam Devenney after the Connacht club final at the weekend, it will dismay many to hear that yet another volunteer has been subjected to a vicious attack, but thankfully, this one was accidental.

At least we think it was.

Barry Clarke was acting as an umpire during the Cavan Minor Hurling Final between Ballymachugh and Mullahoran at Kingspan/Breffni Park at the weekend, when he was blasted on the foot by an unsuspecting hunter with a wayward shot.

Players and spectators at the county ground in Cavan heard two loud shots fired during the second half of the game and after the second blast, Clarke looked down to see pellets at his feet and realised he had indeed been shot.

“I could feel something whizzing past the bottom of my trousers and then the next thing was I could feel something hitting my foot, Clarke told The Star.

“We could see a man not that far away from us with a gun and a little brown and white dog. He looked like he was out shooting pheasants – but he was too close for comfort as far as I was concerned.

“About 10 minutes after we heard the first shot, there was another bang and the small gate behind us rattle. I looked down and I could see pellets a few feet away from me.

“The ricochet from the gate had struck me on the foot. Luckily I was wearing big, strong boots at the time so apart from being a bit sore, it was only the boots that got a doing.”

Courageously, rather than wave the white flag as he would have been entitled to do under the circumstances, Clarke carried on doing his umpire duties, much to the admiration of fellow umpire Pat Clarke, who revealed that the accidental sniper was told in no uncertain terms that he and his weapon of choice were not welcome around those parts.

“We looked around to see the man doing the shooting and some of the players from both teams let him know where to go with his gun,” Clarke added.

Baffled Cavan County Board chiefs are to seek the assistance of the Gardai in investigating the matter after it was included in the referee’s match report.

"The referee’s report confirms the incident took place and it’ll be discussed at county board level,” said Cavan GAA secretary Liam McCabe.

“In the meantime, I’ll be in touch with Gardai to see what they have to say on the matter.”

As appropriate as it was that the Gardai are involved, we think this is a job for the real men in white coats.

To all budding umpires out there, the lesson is clear. If you are going to don the oversized white jacket in future, wear big strong boots. Because you never know what raving mad hunting lunatic with a gun might be lurking around the corner.